King Of Souls (Book 2) (19 page)

“Let’s push ahead,” Keely said. “We’re almost home. If I never see the desert again, it’ll be too soon.”

“I agree,” Brees said. “I don’t think any Obsith scout would dare travel so far north. For that matter, I didn’t believe surviving the desert this far north was even possible. That a sandstorm hasn’t already swallowed us alive is a miracle.”

Danielle coasted upward cresting a rolling dune. Despite Brees and Keely’s willingness to push ahead, Danielle thought she might collapse. “I’m beat. Let’s find a place to land and rest. Thirty minutes is all I need.”

The morning sunlight cast long shadows between the rolling dunes. Ahead, a pair of thirty foot dunes sat back-to-back forming a deep valley between. Such locations made ideal spots to build temporary shelters. Brees used his shaman’s magic to erect wards over the valley. Wards that provided the group protection from the rigorous impact of both heat and cold.

As Danielle topped the nearest dune, she beat her wings and extended her talons to prepare for landing.

A dome of clear orange light bridged the dunes. Brees had built these solar shields daily during their journey northward. Beneath the solar shield, two dragons curled in the sand half-asleep. Their childlike masters worked burlap straps attached to enormous double-seated crystal saddles.

“Move Danielle. Go! Go! Go!” Brees said.

Adrenaline washed through Danielle’s body, and her fatigue vanished. She beat her wings at a furious rate and soared skyward glancing back to find Keely hot on her tail.

Behind Danielle, the air boomed with a dragon’s deafening roar. Hurried high-pitched voices shouted rushed commands.

“They’re sorcerers Danielle. Whatever they’re doing, it can’t be good,” Brees said.

Danielle continued beating her wings at a frantic pace gaining more speed and altitude by the second.

“Don’t try to fly higher,” Brees said. “They’ll snap you out of the air for breakfast. Use the dunes. It’s our only chance,” Brees glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll try to stall them.” He loosened the leather cords attached to Danielle’s saddle and spun around to face the oncoming attack. He tied the leather straps around his waist and pulled free a silver amulet beneath his tunic.

Danielle’s heart raced as she hugged the dunes. She hadn’t the faintest idea how to defend a dragon’s attack or the sorcerers directing them.

Blue light crackled flashing inches from Danielle’s wing leaving the air ripe with the stench of warm ozone.

Danielle rolled to her right while the dune before her exploded.

A billowing cloud of sand filled the sky engulfing Danielle and Keely.

Sand particles stung Danielle’s eyes and flew into her mouth coating her teeth and tongue. She let loose a hawk’s high-pitched screech while she flew through hanging clouds of dust and coarse sand.

A hair-raising roar came twenty-feet behind Danielle and Keely. A brown scaled dragon opened his mouth revealing a set of jagged white teeth.

Danielle’s stomach sank. How had it closed the distance so fast? She dipped lower flying into a valley nestled between two dunes. A second round of lightning sailed high over Brees’s head disappearing into the brilliant morning sky.

The brown dragon broke off his attack as his black claws scraped the sand dune.

Keely shrieked, and her head snapped left.

A dingy gray scaled dragon with a fifty foot wingspan flew parallel to Danielle and Keely. The double saddle mounted atop its heavily scaled back held a pair of riders.

The rider seated in the front seat could’ve passed for Aren’s twin. But, he wore his blond hair in a short buzz cut with a single knot of long blond hair growing from the back center of his head.

Arber Stroman’s bald head gleamed in the morning sunlight. He clung to the dragon’s rear saddle seated behind the sorcerer commanding the gray scaled dragon. He turned his face away from Danielle and Keely refusing to meet their gaze.

Danielle’s skin bristled. She curved upward skimming the sand dune’s peak before pitching down and right. She’d skin the man alive if an opportunity presented itself.

The young sorcerer glared while shouting an unknown command over the dragon’s head.

The gray dragon pinned back its leathery ears before tacking hard right. It pitched downward following Danielle and Keely’s trail.

Brees raised his palm and shouted strange words above the dragon’s screeching roar.

The gray dragon opened its mouth wide enough that the beast’s jaw appeared unhinged. Blue fire leaped from its throat crossing three rows of white razor-sharp teeth. The flames sprayed ten-yards ahead hurtling toward Keely and Danielle.

Danielle’s heart hammered as she held her breath and braced for the fiery impact.

Brees extended his arm, flattening his palm toward the dragon’s open mouth as hot fire streamed forward in a molten gout. The fire parted around a cocoon of glowing violet light. It passed over Brees, Danielle, and Keely leaving them unburned.

Danielle pitched forward as panic flooded her thoughts. She mentally ran through an array of warden’s armor she might invoke for protection. She discounted them all. She couldn’t risk slowing her flight speed. She pitched upward and left crossing over another dune racing away from the gray dragon.

Above Danielle, the sun darkened as a dim dragon-shaped shadow spread across the desert sand. The belly of the brown dragon descended, leading with six-inch gleaming black talons. It reached for Keely, but she swerved crisscrossing Danielle’s path. The dragon roared in frustration as its talons whiffed.

Danielle flew faster, skimming dunes as the pair of dragons gave chase.

The sorcerer commanding the gray dragon shouted. The beast broke off moving skyward in a slow arc that led him over Danielle.

Behind the sorcerer, Arber shook his head and shouted. Hot rage flashed in his eyes, and he glared at the sorcerer shaking his head.

Ignoring Arber’s rage, the boy directed his index finger toward Danielle. He moved his lips speaking words lost in the wind and fighting. A thin lightning bolt leaped from the boy's finger and streaked toward Danielle.

Danielle screeched, dipping below a dune and pitching left.

Brees muttered melodic words that flowed like music. The talisman dangling from his neck glowed silver while he flicked his wrist upward.

Silver light flashed then a mirror-like wall of energy appeared before Danielle. The sorcerer’s lightning bounced from the reflective surface. It ricocheted at a wild angle and disappeared into the blue sky.

The blond-haired sorcerer glared at Brees, his expression a mixture of anger and contempt.

Brees held the boy’s gaze expressing not the slightest hint of fear. He held up both palms tracking the sorcerer with his arms and shook his head.

Danielle streaked forward crossing the desert floor at triple her normal flight speed. She glanced behind her and found Keely had lost ground unable to maintain their furious pace.

The brown dragon closed the gap on Keely’s tail feathers, flying a few yards behind. The beast opened its mouth wide and unhinged its jaw while its eyes rolled backward.

A hard knot of worry tightened in Danielle’s stomach. She screeched a high-pitched wail of desperation and broke off cutting backward.

Brees clung to Danielle’s saddle straps.

Danielle performed a wild aerial maneuver that found them soaring upside down.

The gray dragon lunged toward Danielle, opening its jaws wide before Danielle flipped backward. A loud cracking noise filled the air as the dragon’s jaws snapped shut finding empty air missing her by inches.

Brees muttered more strange words and directed his palm toward the brown dragon’s open mouth.

Hot rage flashed through Danielle’s mind, and her fear faded. She extended her talons and leveled off her wild backward roll.

Fingers of blue fire licked deep inside the dragon’s throat as it prepared its attack. The shaggy haired sorcerer riding the brown scaled beast flattened his palm directing it toward Brees.

Brees’s eyes widened as sharp panic registered across his face.

“Take the boy!” Danielle said. She raced downward aiming her talons for the brown dragon’s exposed orange eyes.

Brees flipped his wrist upward producing a mirrored silver wall.

The sorcerer wound back his arm and hurled a bright ball of orange flames toward Brees.

Brees muttered a jumble of fevered words, and his talisman glowed bright orange before he clenched his hand into a tight fist. The mirror he’d built to reflect the lightning morphed, sagging in the middle to form a concave bowl. The mirror-like surface dissipated transforming into thick transparent glass.

As Danielle swooped into the dragon’s face, the beast closed its eyes. The tip of her talon tugged at the dragon’s soft eyelid ripping open a wide gash.

The sorcerer’s fireball slammed into Brees’s glass bowl. Orange flames spread outward before traveling up the curved slope and disappearing.

The brown dragon roared in fury and pain before looping skyward breaking off its attack.

Arber shouted angry words at the sorcerer who flashed one last look of contempt at Brees. His lips parted again, and he directed strange commands to the gray dragon beneath him.

The gray dragon peeled away from Danielle. It soared upward traversing two-hundred feet in seconds and joined the brown dragon in full retreat.

A feeling of numb disbelief rippled across Danielle’s chest. Had she survived a dragon attack? She pitched left setting a course for the Heartwood.

Anger flashed in Keely’s eyes. “Where did they come from Brees? How did they know where we were? Are they following us?”

“Are you accusing me of something Keely?” Brees’s face turned a bright shade of crimson. “Because that’s what it sounds like. If you are, speak up. I’m all ears.”

“Stop it!” Danielle glared at Keely. “Do you think he would’ve saved us if he knew? Think Keely.”

“I don’t know what to think.” Keely turned her attention away from Brees and flew ahead in silence. “Did you try bonding either of those dragons Danielle?”

“No. I was too worried about surviving. Did you?”

“Yes, I tried.”

“And?”

“Their minds where locked tight. They pushed me away, and it felt deliberate.”

“A mental defense?”

“Yes. I’ve never felt anything quite so odd.” Keely said.

Danielle skimmed the sand dunes keeping low to avoid the sorcerers and their pet dragons. “I don’t know Keely. I’m too tired to think. When we get home, we’ll talk it through. I expect we’ll see the forest’s edge anytime now.”

For an hour, the three flew ahead holding silent.

Danielle fought exhaustion, and her eyelids threatened to close, her body demanding sleep. She’d drifted off a few times nearly crashing into several mountainous sand dunes. Brees prodded her when she drifted too far off course, but she couldn’t stay airborne much longer.

A gentle northern breeze stirred.

The fresh scent of cinnamon drifted across Danielle's nostrils. Sharp chills ran along her wings. “Keely! Do you smell that? We’re home!” A fresh wave of energy blazed through her body chasing away her exhaustion, and she let loose a hawk’s screech of joy.

The breeze stirred again presenting an ominous stench. The undeniable smell of smoke mingled with the Heartwood’s sweet natural aroma.

Danielle’s stomach lurched, and she scrambled skyward climbing the face of a monstrous dune.

As Danielle crested the dune’s peak her heart broke.

The Heartwood, in all its resplendent glory, appeared three-hundred yards ahead. Above the swaying treetops, scores of dragons and sorcerers flew unopposed. They rained gouts of fire and lightning into the forest’s heart.

Danielle wailed as shock overwhelmed her senses. She soared higher flying above the tree line hoping to chase away a mirage produced by her overworked mind.

An endless sea of black smoke and smoldering fire spread across the distant horizon as the Heartwood burned.

Cold Confines

From the decks of the Meranthian naval vessel, Arianne, Ripool’s harbor lights came into view. The winter winds had grown stronger since the confrontation with the Meranthian soul knights. Heavy clouds covered the city, bringing an ominous warning of a looming storm.

Tara leaned against the railing gazing at the harbor lights while her thoughts traveled back in time. Tearstains streaking her cheeks froze while fresh drops formed in the corners of her eyes.

The Arianne heaved lurching through cold choppy waters. The city's twinkling lights blurred, running together in a jumbled mess.

A hard lump settled in Tara’s stomach, and she tightened her grip on the ship’s iron railing. Why did these feelings haunt her? In her mind, she replayed the butchering of those beautiful souls aboard the Damocles. Her chest constricted with grief. Those souls represented the best humanity could offer. Souls she’d helped create, and had once cherished. How could she continue with their despicable plan? Where would she find the inner strength? A numb ache settled in the stiff muscles of her arms and legs.